Books, Audiobooks, Courses - April 2022
Apr. 28th, 2022 03:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitMy fourth month of 7 books, but at least some of these were quicker reads!
Mr Calder and Mr Behrens by Michael Gilbert
Having remembered how much I enjoyed Michael Gilbert's books, it was a delight to be re-united with Mr Calder and Mr Behrens and Rasselas the Persian deerhound. More MI5 than crime fiction, the twists and deductions appeal to me greatly. [C4]
Farther Afield by Miss Read
The next in the Fairacre series, although most of this was set in Crete, it was still a pleasant read. [D4]
Vale of Tears by Sarah Hawkswood
The next in the Bradecote and Catchpoll series. Set in the mid- twelfth century in Worcestershire, with occasional trips to neighbouring counties, a very enjoyable historical mystery, borrowed from the library. I will read more - just need to find the time! [A4]
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
One of the most popular crime novels at the moment, it's told entirely by text and email message, with the occasional press cutting thrown in. I reserved it from the library before Christmas, and received it this month. I found it a quick read, and enthralling. However, unlike most people I wasn't impressed with the solution. [A5]
Behold, Here's Poison by Georgette Heyer
This month's Shedunnit book club read, also borrowed from the library. The second Heyer crime novel I have read, and, as with the first, I disliked all the characters, and really didn't care whodidit, although this time I didn't guess. I find it disappointing that her historical novels have some interesting characters, here they feel much more cardboard. [E4]
The School at Thrush Green by Miss Read
Having finished my Fairacre book quickly, I moved onto the next Thrush Green book. This was also because I was looking for a quick read while I could see some more library books were on their way. It served its purpose very well. [F7]
A Concise History of Portugal by David Birmingham
I must have bought this book after we'd been to Lisbon a good few years ago, so I decided to finally read it. It did give me some idea of Portugal's history, but I didn't like the style, which I felt reflected too much of the author's own thoughts, when I was looking for facts. Also reading about the Victorian period just annoyed me. [B4]
Audiobooks
Everyday Kindness edited by L J Ross, various narrators. Raising funds for Shelter, this is a collection of short stories written by a number of authors, with a theme of some form of kindness in each one. I rarely listened to more than one each day, as they tended to feel a bit bland.
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope, read by Timothy West. I listened to this over a period of about two months. The relationships between the various Barchester clergy and their wives, and the designs they all have is enjoyable. Not sure, however, whether I shall listen to any more.
Village Affairs by Miss Read, read by June Barrie. Having read the previous one in the Fairacre series, I listened to this - it was an ideal companion to my knitting - which seems rather appropriate!
The Human Factor by Graham Greene, read by Tim Piggott-Smith. My fourth Graham Greene over the last 12 months, quite tense in part. It was fun seeing how things unfolded.
Courses: FutureLearn
What is Poetry? An Introduction to Literary Analysis (University of Newcastle, Australia) I really enjoyed this course, which looked at the structure of a number of pre-twentieth century poems. Explaining how they were put together, to achieve their aim, was really interesting, not at all dry, and gave me a greater understanding of the poems. It's something I will try to bear in mind when reading older poetry.
Fall in Love with Mandarin (National Yang Ming Chia Tung University, Taiwan) I didn't care for the emphasis, but found the phrases shared could be useful if I ever went to a Mandarin speaking country.
Here are both my book bingo cards for 2022, both thematic and alphabetical:
Mr Calder and Mr Behrens by Michael Gilbert
Having remembered how much I enjoyed Michael Gilbert's books, it was a delight to be re-united with Mr Calder and Mr Behrens and Rasselas the Persian deerhound. More MI5 than crime fiction, the twists and deductions appeal to me greatly. [C4]
Farther Afield by Miss Read
The next in the Fairacre series, although most of this was set in Crete, it was still a pleasant read. [D4]
Vale of Tears by Sarah Hawkswood
The next in the Bradecote and Catchpoll series. Set in the mid- twelfth century in Worcestershire, with occasional trips to neighbouring counties, a very enjoyable historical mystery, borrowed from the library. I will read more - just need to find the time! [A4]
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
One of the most popular crime novels at the moment, it's told entirely by text and email message, with the occasional press cutting thrown in. I reserved it from the library before Christmas, and received it this month. I found it a quick read, and enthralling. However, unlike most people I wasn't impressed with the solution. [A5]
Behold, Here's Poison by Georgette Heyer
This month's Shedunnit book club read, also borrowed from the library. The second Heyer crime novel I have read, and, as with the first, I disliked all the characters, and really didn't care whodidit, although this time I didn't guess. I find it disappointing that her historical novels have some interesting characters, here they feel much more cardboard. [E4]
The School at Thrush Green by Miss Read
Having finished my Fairacre book quickly, I moved onto the next Thrush Green book. This was also because I was looking for a quick read while I could see some more library books were on their way. It served its purpose very well. [F7]
A Concise History of Portugal by David Birmingham
I must have bought this book after we'd been to Lisbon a good few years ago, so I decided to finally read it. It did give me some idea of Portugal's history, but I didn't like the style, which I felt reflected too much of the author's own thoughts, when I was looking for facts. Also reading about the Victorian period just annoyed me. [B4]
Audiobooks
Everyday Kindness edited by L J Ross, various narrators. Raising funds for Shelter, this is a collection of short stories written by a number of authors, with a theme of some form of kindness in each one. I rarely listened to more than one each day, as they tended to feel a bit bland.
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope, read by Timothy West. I listened to this over a period of about two months. The relationships between the various Barchester clergy and their wives, and the designs they all have is enjoyable. Not sure, however, whether I shall listen to any more.
Village Affairs by Miss Read, read by June Barrie. Having read the previous one in the Fairacre series, I listened to this - it was an ideal companion to my knitting - which seems rather appropriate!
The Human Factor by Graham Greene, read by Tim Piggott-Smith. My fourth Graham Greene over the last 12 months, quite tense in part. It was fun seeing how things unfolded.
Courses: FutureLearn
What is Poetry? An Introduction to Literary Analysis (University of Newcastle, Australia) I really enjoyed this course, which looked at the structure of a number of pre-twentieth century poems. Explaining how they were put together, to achieve their aim, was really interesting, not at all dry, and gave me a greater understanding of the poems. It's something I will try to bear in mind when reading older poetry.
Fall in Love with Mandarin (National Yang Ming Chia Tung University, Taiwan) I didn't care for the emphasis, but found the phrases shared could be useful if I ever went to a Mandarin speaking country.
Here are both my book bingo cards for 2022, both thematic and alphabetical:
no subject
Date: 2022-04-28 03:48 pm (UTC)I don't like Heyer. I always think I should/will and I never do. :/ I've given her second, third, and fourth chances at least.
Bingo cards are shaping up nicely!!
no subject
Date: 2022-04-28 03:58 pm (UTC)I'd read a Heyer historical romance once a year, but the crime stories don't work for me. I shall be interested to read the comments of the book club.
Yes, I've got another 4 thematic books lined up, so that will easily be completed, using replacement categories and free spaces. The alphabetical one is more of a challenge - it will depend what else I want to read which begins with the correct letters!
no subject
Date: 2022-04-28 04:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-28 06:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-29 03:46 am (UTC)wow on the book bingo cards - go you!!
no subject
Date: 2022-04-29 07:59 am (UTC)